► EPA could outlaw road-to-race car conversions
► Potential to affect the entire motorsport industry
► Aftermarket industry opposes the proposal
Here’s some news that ought to concern you if you’re interested in grassroots motorsport, engineering or the principle of having fun with cars in general.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA has proposed a regulation to forbid the conversion of vehicles originally designed for road use into competition cars, or at least doing so in a way that would involve modification of their engines or emission control devices.
The proposal is buried within a 629-page document called ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles – Phase 2; Proposed Rule’, published in 2015. Here’s a link to the original document.
Digesting the whole thing is hardly the work of a moment, but one of the passages causing industry observers particular concern is as follows:
‘Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become nonroad vehicles or engines; anyone modifying a certified motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine for any reason is subject to the tampering and defeat device prohibitions of 40 CFR 1068.101(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7522(a)(3).‘
At a glance this appears possible to comply with – you could still race a car with a standard powertrain and emissions system. However, it seemingly spells disaster for all series and formulae at club level, and potentially above, that involve cars with non-standard setups. Which, let’s be honest, is an awful lot of them. And does ‘anyone modifying a certified motor vehicle’ mean no changes can be made at all?
Not all doom and gloom?
There are certain clauses within the release that suggest some leeway may be allowed. For instance:
‘Note that a new engine that will be installed in a vehicle that will be used solely for competition may be excluded from the requirements of this part based on a determination that the vehicle is not a motor vehicle under 40 CFR 85.1703.’
And:
‘Competition engines/equipment: (i) For uncertified engines/equipment that are excluded or exempted as new engines/equipment from any requirements of this chapter because they are to be used solely for competition, you may not use any of them in a manner that is inconsistent with use solely for competition.’
Still, the former section ostensibly relates to the installation of a new engine rather than modifications to an existing one, and the latter apparently precludes driving a road-registered racing car on the road (unless you perform a quick engine change first?).
SEMA moves to oppose the regulation
The US Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has moved to question the EPA’s proposed regulation, which would also outlaw the sale of certain emissions-related parts for converted vehicles.
‘This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles,’ SEMA’s president Chris Kersting has said. ‘Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion.’
A statement by SEMA continues: ‘Working with other affected organizations, including those representing legions of professional and hobbyist racers and fans, SEMA will continue to oppose the regulation through the administrative process and will seek congressional support and judicial intervention as necessary.’
The exact implications of the proposal are still being ascertained, and the EPA suggests it anticipates publishing final regulations by July 2016. This story’s outcome, and its potential ramifications worldwide, is well worth keeping a wary eye on.
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